Steve Frey
Actually, the jingle went “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet,” but most people think of classic Americana as the first three items.
This saying was from an old Chevrolet commercial that tried to associate a Chevrolet with everything wonderful about America.
Now some Ford admirers would vehemently disagree, but battles between Ford and Chevrolet, especially where trucks are involved, is content for another column. This one is about the Fourth of July!
Since today is the celebration of our country’s birthday, let’s keep everything as political as possible. At the Radford Fourth of July Celebration today, let’s have all of the Republican booths and activities on the right side of the field and all the Democratic booths on the left-hand side.
Same thing with the Blacksburg Parade—Republicans on the right side of the street and Democrats on the left. Christiansburg, ditto with their downtown activities.
For the Pulaski Yankees game, the Republicans will sit on the right side of the field and the Democrats will sit on the left.
This all sounds pretty silly, doesn’t it? We’ll come back to that in a minute.
My dad was a member of the American Legion, so we spent a lot of time at Legion activities, and it’s funny, but even though there were hundreds of members, I don’t remember anyone ever having big arguments about politics.
They were all former soldiers with different jobs, some white collar and some blue collar, some were liberal and some conservative, but they were all united by their love of our country and respect for the sacrifices they made for America.
Some were Democrats and some were Republicans, but they were all Americans first. Because they loved their country, they surely had strong feelings, but at the end of a discussion or at the end of the night, they left as friends, with their arms over each other’s shoulders and a smile on their faces.
The same thing happened with church activities. We belonged to a huge church, and there were members of the congregation with a variety of viewpoints.
Again, politics might have been in the back of their minds, but caring about their fellow church members and their love of God were in the front. Political views were secondary to their religious convictions.
At work, in the softball league, with all community activities, people were Americans first; political party membership was an identifier somewhere down the line. Today, however, many people identify with politics above everything.
A lot has been said about the lack of civility in our society. Perhaps we need to take a step back and think about what an incredible country we have and how important it is for us to work together more and throw insults around less.
Yes, there are substantial differences of opinion and beliefs between parties in our country; there always have been.
In post-revolutionary times, people actually dueled over politics, and, of course, there was the Civil War. But over the years, people united as Americans and not only worked to make America a great country, but also fought a couple of world wars to save other people and their countries, too.
Yes, it would be silly to segregate ourselves by politics at activities today or any day. When you are at the Radford Fourth of July Celebration today, the Blacksburg parade, having a hotdog in Christiansburg or enjoying the Yankees game (Go, Yankees!), sit back a second and look around.
See all of your fellow citizens enjoying the activities together. Notice all of the friendships and everyone socializing together as a community. Realize that there is so much more that unites us than divides us.
We share a common belief that America is the greatest country in the world. We believe that Americans can achieve anything when we work together. We have a deep respect for the accomplishments of our forefathers and mothers and the hardships they endured to provide us with the astonishing land of opportunity we have inherited.
Make this Fourth of July the day to commit to listening patiently to the viewpoints of others. Commit to sharing opinions in a reasonable, measured way that shows respect for others.
Don’t get pulled into the ugly rhetoric that leaders on the highest levels share regularly. Remember, they are trying to unite a few by the division of the many.
We became the greatest country in the world because we learned to compromise and work together.
Keep in mind that Republicans and Democrats aren’t all trying to destroy the nation as the spin-masters on both sides would lead us to believe.
Most people are simply Americans who care so much about their country they are willing to take a stand for what they believe in and cherish.
Let’s respect each other for that, and at the end of the day, let’s throw an arm around each other and enjoy all we have in common, too.
Yes, today is all about baseball, hot dogs and apple pie, but not everyone loves those things. Golf, hamburgers and chocolate cake are good, too.
You can create your own combination. That is the beauty of America: We can all enjoy our country, activities, and yes, political opinions, in the way we choose.
Freedom and democracy should be cherished. They are unique to only a small percentage of people in the world.
We are lucky to be among the few, and we should appreciate all of those things that unite us and learn to understand better those with whom we may disagree.
Thomas Jefferson and our Founding Fathers concluded the Declaration of Independence with these words:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
We should also mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor to preserving our country but also to each other because we’re ALL Americans.
Happy Independence Day, America! We’ll celebrate our extreme good fortune and blessings today—and every day—together.
Steve Frey is a writer and CEO of Ascendant Educational Services based in Radford.